Golf tee



May 24, 1927.

E. P. ESTER GOLF TEE Filed July 24. 1926 INVENTOR ATTORNEY5 Patented May 24, 192

- UNITED STATES} P AT o FF re a.

an. WEBSTER, or NIAGARA FALLS, ngw an.

GOLF TEE.

, Application filed July 24, 1926. Serial 1T0. 124,577.

on the golf course to keep it in condition.-

So-called ready tees have recently come into wide use to replace the small mound of sand made by the golfer to support the ball in'suitable position for driving, theseready tees being formed of wood, paper, metal, and the like, and consisting of a prong which is to be forced into the ground and a head which serves as a ball rest. Many of these tees as heretofore constructed are .objectionablein that they do not have suffiient mechanical strength to permit their being forced into the ground, especially when the latter is baked hard by the sun, and frequently the head is so secured to the prong that when the necessary pressure is applied, thetee is broken, or bent so that it will not suiport the ball.

i fie object of this invention is to provide a tee of this kind which is easily placed in the ground and removed and sufliciently' strong so that it will withstand the pressure necessary to force it into position without being injured. The present tee is also of such con-' struction that it may be readily made by a stamping operation so that it may be constructed in large quantities at a low cost.

The present tee is preferably formed of a blank of light sheet metal which includes a central member of triangular shape having a pair of triangular wings. The central member also includes a tongue whlch extends beyond the base of the triangle and, in

forming'the tee, the wings of theblank are bent so'that the central member and wings provide a prong of triangular cross-section. The tongueor extension which is dished or made concave to hold the ball sedurely is then bent at an angle to the central member so as to overlie the top of the prong and this'seat provides a surface against which the user may apply pressure with the thumb when the tee is placed in position. The tee is placed in th s ground with the fiat central member lying across the direction of flight of the ball and facing the line of movement of the club, and the wings then meet to form a sharp edge facing the direction of flight. Accordingly if the club head should strike the tee, the tee will have a tendency to cut into the soil and is thus less likely to become bent by the impact. The tongue which forms the ball seat extends slightly beyond the meeting edge of the wings and provides a lipby which the tee may readily be removed. With this arrangement, the prong is of unusual strength because it has a structural shape, and the tee is readily inserted in the ground and removed.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference maybe had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a View of the tee with the ball in place thereon, the view being in elevation and taken from the direction of flight of the ball,

, Fig. 2 is another view of the tee and ball in side elevation, showing the tee inserted in the ground,

Fig. 3 is a top view of the tee,

Fig. 4 is a view of the blank from which the tee is made,

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional View on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view onthe 1 line 6-6 of Fig. 1. Referring now to the drawing, the tee generally designated 10 is shown as consisting of a prong 11 and a tongue, 12, which provides a seat for the ball 13. The tee is made of a blank 14 of sheet metal, as shown in Fig. ,4. This blank includes acentral,

triangular member 15 and a pair of triangular wings 16 extending from either side of the triangular member. The bases 17 of the triangular wings lie substantiallyin alignment with the base of the trian ular member 15. Extending beyond the base of the triangular member is a tongue 18 and in the formation of the finished tee from the blank, the wings 16 are folded toward each other, as illustrated in Fig. 6, thus providing the prong 11 which is of triangular cross-section and terminates at its lower end in the point 19. The tongue 18 is dished'or concave as indicated at 20 and this tongue is bent downwardly so as to overlie and extend slightly beyond the upper endsof the wings 16 as shown in Fig. 5. pTllB tee thus consists of the prong of triangular cross-section and the ball seat which overlies thejupper end of the-prong. The end of the tongue, indicated at 21, extends beyondthe sides 22 of the wings and these sides lie close to each other so as to form a somewhat sharp edge.

When the tee is to be used, the prong is I club as the latter moves toward the ball, the

meeting edges of the wings of the blank lying in the direction of flight. With this arrangement, if the club head should strike the tee. it will contact with the flat face of thecentral member 15 and the impact will cause the meeting edges of the wings to cut intothe turf as the tee is forced in the same direction as the ball flies. The formation of the tee with the meeting edges lying in this position prevents the tee from being injured by the club as the force of the impact will not bend the prong but will force the tee sideways into the ground. lVhcn the tee is to be removed. the golfer grasps it between his fingers, lifting up on the extending edgell of the ball rest which provides a good means of grasping the tee and freeing it from the ground.

The tee is preferably made of zinc or other soft metal of this kind, and light sheet metal may be used since the manner in which the prong is constructed with three sides,

reinforces the prong and gives it the strength necessary to permit it to be forced into the hard ground. A tee of this construction may be used repeatedly, it is readily inserted in position and easily withdrawn by reason of the manner of formation of the head or ball rest, and the construction of the prong with the knife edge lying in the direction of flight of the ball protects the tee against injury by impact with the club. Also, as the ball rest may be made shallow, the tee itself has no influence on the direction of flight of the ball, and even though the tee should be struck by the club head in the stroke, the

movement of the tee into the ground dueto the impact, removes the tee from in front of the club so that the flight of the ball is not affected.

' Iclaim: Y

1. A tee for use in golf comprising a prong having a flat face, a tongue formed as an extension of said face and bent at an angle thereto, this tongue lying wholly at one side of the axis of said face and forming a support for the golf ball. and wings extending from the edges of said face. these wings being bent toward each other to a position beneath said tongue and serving to reinforce the said flat face.

'2. A tee for use in golf comprising a prong having a flat face and wings extending from either edge thereof, these wings be ing bent toward each other to reinforce said face, and a rest for the ball overlying, the upper ends of the wings.

3. A tee for use in golf comprising a prong having a flatface and wings extending from either edge thereof, these wings being bent toward each other to reinforce said face, and a tongue formed as an extension from said face and bent to overlie and extend beyond the upper ends of said wings, this tongue being shaped to provide a rest for a golf ball.

4. A blank for making a tee for use in golf, comprising a flat triangular metal member having a triangular wing formed as an extension thereof beyond either lateral edge these wings being adapted to be folded toward each other along their line of union with the said triangular member to reinforce said member to permit its use asa prong, and a tongue extending from the base of said triangular member and adapted to be bent at an angle thereto along its line of union with said member to provide a rest for a golf ball. I

5. A tee for a golf ball comprising a metal prong formed of a central member having a pair of wings folded to give the prong a triangular cross-section, and a rest for the ball secured to the top of the prong.

' q 6. A tee for a golf ball comprising a central triangular member having a triangular 7. A tee for a golf ball comprising a cen-;

tral triangular member having a triangular wing at either side, the said wings being folded toward each other to provide :1 prong of triangular cross-section, and a tongue formed as an extension from the base of the central member and bent to overlie the ends of the wings.

8. A tee for use in golf comprising 2. prong having a flat face and wings extending from the edges of the face and bent toward each other at one side of the face to reinforce 'the latter, and a tongue extending from one end of said face and bent to one side thereof to overlie the upper ends of said wings, this {songue being concave to provide a rest for a In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

EARL P. WEBSTER. 

